VIDEO: Florida motorcyclists sent 'flying' headfirst after colliding with alligator on highway



Why did the alligator cross the road?

For two motorcyclists in Florida, there was no punch line, as one alligator that crossed a busy highway in Florida sent the pair "flying" headfirst after slamming into the reptile last weekend.

The motorcyclists found themselves in the dangerous situation on an interstate in Orange County — roughly 30 miles north of Orlando.

'I didn't even have a second to do anything.'

A group of bikers were riding on Interstate 4 on May 31 when they encountered the toothy road hazard.

An alligator was crossing the busy interstate when one of the motorcyclists crashed into the gator.

Motorcyclist Cameron Gilmore told WESH-TV, "I saw it, like, 10 feet in front of me, and I just, you know, I thought — I knew I was going to hit it."

"It kind of just happened so quick," Gilmore explained to WESH. "I didn't even have a second to do anything. Couldn't put on the brakes or not. And I just had to hold on."

The collision with the alligator sent the biker flying.

"I flipped over the handlebars and landed on my head on I-4 and rolled," Gilmore added to the station. "Somebody said two or three rolls on, you know, head-first, and then I start flying for a long way."

A 25-year-old female motorcyclist trailing Gilmore also smashed into the gator, WESH said.

Video recorded by a fellow motorcyclist shows the alligator and a person in the middle of the highway. The clip shows the bikers pulling off to the shoulder and then helping the injured bikers.

RELATED: Deputies shoot growling Florida man dead after 'bizarre' standoff — and just moments after he survived alligator attack: Cops

Gilmore and the woman were both rushed to the HCA Lake Monroe Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to WFLA-TV.

Gilmore told WESH his right leg was "real numb and hurt," and the station said he suffered a couple of broken bones.

A 67-year-old from DeLeon Springs, Gilmore noted to WESH that the crash will not deter him from getting back on his bike: "Nobody wants me to, but I, yeah, I will. I'm not scared."

Meanwhile, agents with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were dispatched to check on the injured alligator, WESH said. The condition of the gator was not known, according to WFLA.

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Delta reveals information about pilots flying plane that crashed in Canada; CEO lauds flight crew for performing 'heroically'



Delta Air Lines has released information about the pilots who flew the plane that crash-landed in Canada. The airline released the information to counter "disinformation" posted on social media about the flight crew of Delta Flight 4819.

On Thursday night, Delta Air Lines released a statement to correct "misleading assertions" about the pilots of the Bombardier CRJ-900LR jet that flipped upside down while attempting to land at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday.

'You start thinking about your loved ones — my wife and children — and you just try to brace yourself.'

"Endeavor Air and Delta are correcting disinformation in social media containing false and misleading assertions about the flight crew of Endeavor Air 4819," the statement began.

Delta said the captain of the plane was hired in October 2007 by Mesaba Airlines, which merged with Pinnacle Airlines in 2012 to form Endeavor Air. Following a Chapter 11 reorganization, Endeavor Air became a wholly owned regional subsidiary of Delta Air Lines.

The statement noted, "He has served both as an active-duty captain and in pilot training and flight safety capacities."

Delta stressed, "Assertions that he failed training events are false. Assertions that he failed to flow into a pilot position at Delta Air Lines due to training failures are also false."

Regarding the first officer on the chaotic flight, she was hired by Endeavor Air in January 2024 and completed training last April.

"She has been flying for Endeavor since that time," Delta stated. "Her flight experience exceeded the minimum requirements set by U.S. federal regulations. Assertions that she failed training events are false."

CBS News reported that the first officer graduated from a university with an accredited and "well-respected aviation program," which enabled her to "start working with fewer than 1,500 hours under a Restricted Air Transport Pilot certificate."

The first officer surpassed the 1,500-hour mark and earned her full Airline Transport Pilot certificate, which is the highest-level pilot certification in the United States, in January 2023.

The airline company said both flight crew members are qualified and certified by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said during a "CBS Mornings" interview that aired on Wednesday, "Our Endeavor crew performed heroically, but also as expected. The reality is that safety is embedded into our system.”

Bastian added, "We’re a very competitive industry across the U.S. airlines, but there’s one thing we do not compete on, and that’s safety. We all work together, and we all learn from each other."

"All these pilots train for these conditions," Bastian continued. "They fly under all kinds of conditions at all the airports in which we rate, so there's nothing specific with respect to experience that I'd look to."

The pilots attempted to land the commercial airliner at the Toronto Pearson International Airport, which had been hit by two winter storms in the days leading up to the plane crash.

Videos show the plane experiencing a rough landing, which may have caused the landing gear to collapse. The plane burst into flames, the right wing was torn off, and the aircraft flipped upside down.

Nate Richie, a passenger on the Delta flight, recalled the moment the plane rolled on the runway.

"We were jolted and started to roll," Richie told Fox News on Friday. "[There were] explosions and fire on the opposite side of the plane as we started rolling, [with] things flying through the air and bodies being jolted around."

Richie said special moments in his life flashed before his eyes, and he started to think: "This is it."

"You start thinking about your loved ones — my wife and children — and you just try to brace yourself," Richie explained.

Miraculously, there were no fatalities in the crash landing. However, 21 passengers were injured and needed to be hospitalized due to the air travel emergency.

As of Thursday morning, all 21 passengers were released from the hospital.

"The Delta and Endeavor families are grateful that all those injured Monday have been released from the hospital, and we extend our thanks to everyone who provided care to them over the past few days," Bastian said in a statement.

As Blaze News reported on Thursday, Delta Air Lines has offered the 76 passengers a compensation package of $30,000 apiece. The offer has "no strings attached," according to Delta.

The cause of the plane crash is still under investigation by the Canadian Transportation Safety Board with assistance from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board.

The aircraft's black box and cockpit voice recorder have been recovered from the wreckage.

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Delta Air Lines offers compensation with 'no strings attached' to passengers of plane that flipped upside down in Canada



Delta Air Lines has made a compensation offer to the passengers of the commercial airliner that crash-landed in Canada.

Delta Air Lines announced that it would offer a "no strings attached" compensation package to the passengers of Delta Flight 4819 that crash-landed at the Toronto Pearson International Airport on Monday.

Toronto Pearson International Airport President and CEO Deborah Flint said that there were 'extreme conditions' at the airport from two separate storms ahead of the crash landing.

"Delta Care Team representatives are telling customers this gesture has no strings attached and does not affect rights," a Delta spokesperson said in a statement.

Delta Air Lines is reportedly offering $30,000 apiece to the passengers of Delta Flight 4819 — which was operated by the carrier's wholly owned regional subsidiary, Endeavor Air.

There were 76 passengers on the plane that flipped upside down while landing on the snow-covered runway, so Delta Air Lines would be on the hook for nearly $2.3 million if all of the passengers accept the offer.

For comparison, passengers of the U.S. Airways plane that landed in the Hudson River in 2009 received $5,000 — worth approximately $7,500 when adjusted for inflation. The check was compensation for their lost luggage and a refund of their tickets for the flight, which was piloted by Chesley Sullenberger.

Robert Hedrick, an aviation accident attorney from the Seattle-based Aviation Law Group, said the $30,000 offer is a "good start."

"The $30,000 advance payment offer by Delta is a good start in the right direction, as long as passengers do not have to give up any of their rights for full and fair compensation in the future," Hedrick told Business Insider.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian said on Monday that the airline would do "everything" to support the Flight 4819 passengers and their families in the days ahead.

"Our most pressing priority remains taking care of all customers and Endeavor crew members who were involved. We'll do everything we can to support them and their families in the days ahead, and I know the hearts, thoughts, and prayers of the entire Delta community are with them," Bastian stated. "We are grateful for all the first responders and medical teams who have been caring for them."

Delta Air Lines provided an update on the conditions of the passengers who were injured in the violent landing of the Bombardier CRJ-900LR jet.

As of Thursday morning, all 21 passengers who were hospitalized following the air travel emergency have been released, Delta Air Lines confirmed to USA Today.

There were also four crew members aboard Delta Flight 4819.

Delta has yet to release information regarding the pilot of the plane.

Air travel officials from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are still investigating why the plane crashed. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board sent a team of investigators to assist.

As of Wednesday night, the wreckage had been moved from the runway to a nearby hangar for further examination.

"Members of our TechOps team were among the aviation professionals on Wednesday evening who removed the damaged Delta Connection aircraft from a Toronto Pearson International Airport runway," Delta said in a statement. "The removal took several hours in coordination with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority and Air Canada — who provided additional recovery experts and specialized equipment — and was done after receiving permission from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada."

Transportation Safety Board of Canada senior investigator Ken Webster said in a video update on Tuesday, "At this point, it's far too early to say what the cause of this accident might be. However, we will share more information once we're able to."

Air travel investigators have removed the cockpit voice recorder and black boxes from the aircraft and sent them to a lab for analysis.

Toronto Pearson International Airport President and CEO Deborah Flint said that there were "extreme conditions" at the airport from two separate storms ahead of the crash landing.

"On Thursday and Sunday, we got more than 20 inches, 50 centimeters of accumulated snow. That is actually not typical. In fact, it is more snow within that time window than we received in all of last winter," Flint said at a news conference Tuesday, according to ABC News. "There were many delays and cancellations across this part of Canada and the U.S. Northeast during this time, creating numerous flight delays and backlogs."

Flint noted, "Monday was a clear day, though, and it was an operational recovery day for Toronto Pearson."

Audio recordings revealed that the air traffic control tower warned the pilots of a possible airflow “bump” on the approach, with winds gusting up to 40 mph, according to the Associated Press.

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Video shows deadly plane crash at Arizona airport involving jet of '80s rocker



A jet owned by the famous frontman of an '80s rock band crashed into another plane at an Arizona airport on Monday afternoon. The deadly plane collision was captured on video.

A jet owned by Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe was landing at Scottsdale Airport after departing from Austin, Texas. The plane initially landed safely. However, the plane "veered off the runway."

The plane crash at Scottsdale Airport is the most recent in a rash of air traffic emergencies.

The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement: "A Learjet 35A veered off the runway after landing and crashed into a Gulfstream G-200 business jet on the ramp at Scottsdale Municipal Airport in Arizona around 2:45 p.m. local time Monday, Feb. 10. Four people were on board the Learjet and one person was on board the Gulfstream."

The City of Scottsdale stated, "According to initial reports, the Learjet’s left main landing gear failed upon landing, leading to the collision."

Following the plane crash, flights were temporarily paused at Scottsdale Airport.

KPHO/KTVK obtained video of the moment that the rocker's jet crashed into another plane at Scottsdale Airport. Neil was not on the plane at the time of the crash.

A representative for Neil said in a statement:

At 2:39 p.m. local time, a Learjet aircraft Model 35A owned by Vince Neil was attempting to land at the Scottsdale Airport. For reasons unknown at this time, the plane veered from the runway causing it to collide with another parked plane. On board Mr. Neil’s plane were two pilots and two passengers. Mr. Neil was not on the plane. More specific details regarding the collision are not available as this is a rapidly evolving situation and there is an ongoing investigation. Mr. Neil’s thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved, and he is grateful for the critical aid of all first responders assisting today.

Scottsdale Fire Capt. Dave Folio said one person was killed, three others were hurt, and another victim didn't want medical treatment. KTRK-TV reported that two of the individuals injured were in critical condition and rushed to a local trauma center.

The FAA and NTSB are investigating the plane crash.

Scottsdale Mayor Lisa Borowsky said, "On behalf of the city of Scottsdale, we offer our deepest condolences to those involved in the accident and for those who have been taken to our trauma center for treatment. We will keep all affected by this tragedy in our prayers."

Jet Pros, which owns the Gulfstream G-200, told KTRK-TV that the plane sustained "external damages."

"We are cooperating fully with airport authorities and relevant agencies as they conduct a thorough review of the situation," Jet Pros said.

The plane crash at Scottsdale Airport is the most recent in a rash of air traffic emergencies.

Late last month, an American Eagle flight collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter at a low altitude near the Ronald Reagan National Airport. All 67 people involved in the midair collision died. The midair collision is the deadliest domestic plane crash in nearly 20 years.

Two days after the collision involving the passenger plane and the Black Hawk helicopter, a small plane crashed into a neighborhood in northeast Philadelphia. All six passengers on the plane and a person on the ground were killed; 22 people were injured in the plane crash.

As Blaze News reported earlier this month, a United Airlines airplane was forced to abort a "high-speed" takeoff after an engine burst into flames in Texas. All of the 104 passengers and crew safely evacuated the plane without injuries, according to officials.

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Blaze News original: Incredible stories of charity and rugged survival in the North Carolina mountains



Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 storm in the late evening of September 26, carving a path of destruction through several Southeastern states. Small mountain communities in Western North Carolina were among those hardest hit by the hurricane.

High winds and floodwaters left a wake of toppled trees, downed power lines, massive landslides, and washed-out roads.

Though it has been over two weeks since the natural disaster, the full extent of the hurricane's damage is still unclear.

North Carolina authorities reported on October 16 that they had confirmed 95 fatalities across 20 counties, including 42 in Buncombe, 11 in Yancey, and seven in Henderson. Even now, many individuals remain either missing or unaccounted for.

However, in the aftermath of that devastation, a different kind of story unfolded — one of hope in which the bond of community and collective resilience showcased the unbreakable American spirit.

Neighbors and volunteers from all over the country with varying backgrounds and skills quickly rallied together to provide disaster relief to victims of Hurricane Helene. Veterans and current active-duty military members pooled their resources to execute emergency evacuations for those in critical need of medical assistance, while pilots and tour agencies used their personal and business helicopters to fly vital supplies to those living up in the mountains, cut off from the rest of the world.

Undoubtedly, the massive grassroots volunteer effort from everyday citizens that sprouted up overnight in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene saved many lives. Here are just some of their inspirational stories.

Community heroes rescue neighbors in need

Mercury One, a charity founded by Glenn Beck, and Blaze Media were on the ground in Asheville and Swannanoa, North Carolina, the week after Hurricane Helene barreled through the mountainous region.

The team linked up with an all-volunteer group run by veterans and active-duty military members who had set up a forward operating base in a Harley-Davidson dealership. While the storm had also impacted the property, after the water receded, the dealership owner and volunteers cleared out the mud, set up operations inside, and used a large field out back as an airport for helicopters both bringing supplies and delivering them to those in need.

The operation was led by Adam Smith, a former United States Army Green Beret and the founder of Savage Freedoms. In the first several days following the storm, his team coordinated medevacs and search-and-rescue flights for those needing medical assistance who were left stranded due to completely washed-out roads and downed trees and power lines.

Image Source: Blaze Media

Aeroluxe Aviation, a helicopter tour agency based in Nashville, Tennessee, was on-site with the Savage Freedoms team.

The company previously told Blaze News, "We flew almost nonstop sunrise to sunset with our three helicopters on missions delivering medical supplies, insulin, other medications, oxygen, perishable foods, and dry goods."

Back on the ground, the team had an operations manager, Anthony Velasquez, who was "scrubbing social media for people asking for help or looking for loved ones," Aeroluxe Aviation explained.

"He would direct our resources with supplies or wellness checks to those areas in conjunction with Savage Freedoms."

Zach Gibson, an active-duty military member and Asheville native, volunteered to join Smith and his team at the Harley-Davidson dealership turned operating base.

"Being from the area, when everything happened, I just felt the need to go there with some of my friends and help out and do what we can," Gibson told Blaze News.

Image Source: Blaze Media

Gibson explained that in the time he was there, almost a week, he and some other volunteers went to perform a wellness check on a woman who had recently undergone surgery and was scheduled for a second when it was postponed due to the hurricane.

"She was getting an infection, and we didn't want it to go septic," Gibson stated.

A paramedic in the volunteer group made the medical assessment that the woman's life was at risk and she needed to be medevaced out of the area immediately.

"I sent essentially that medical assessment via a text using Starlink, which was absolutely critical in doing any of this," Gibson noted.

Back at the Harley-Davidson dealership, air coordinator Johnny Wilson responded to Gibson's text message, notifying the team that the crew was getting a helicopter ready.

"We were in the middle of the valley in Burnsville," Gibson continued. "Had I not had Starlink mobile in my truck, that conversation would have never happened, and it could have resulted in the death of that lady."

He explained that flying the woman out of the area also presented some challenges.

"There was some obstacles, specifically power lines in the area that prevented the bird from landing. So the bird had to land on the other side of the mountain," Gibson said. "They drove up in a pickup truck to the CASEVAC, casualty evacuation."

'A huge collective effort on just ultimate altruism, just wanting to help out people in need.'

He stated that the team's paramedic "did an excellent handover with the doctor."

The woman was ultimately medevaced out with the doctor.

"I later received confirmation that that had to happen," Gibson added.

Gibson told Blaze News about another wellness check he and his team performed for a family of four who could not leave their home.

"Due to all the roads, the traditional routes that had been washed away, it took us about five or six hours to actually get to this home," he explained. "When we got there, the husband, Rich, wife, Lindsay, and their two kids had been isolated and not trapped inside the home physically, but unable to leave because trees had fallen all around their house."

Gibson stated that the husband was making trips on foot to a barn a few miles away to grab what limited supplies he could carry back for his family.

After Gibson and his team dropped off some much-needed items, they offered to return in the morning with chainsaws to clear the fallen trees blocking the family's exit. He noted that the clearing effort took a few hours, but once completed, the family was able to make their own supply runs again.

He told Blaze News that those rescue efforts were made possible by volunteers.

"So many people in my unit, and then just people I know in my church community and everywhere, started donating money to help us get supplies that we needed to get up there," Gibson added. "It really was a huge collective effort on just ultimate altruism, just wanting to help out people in need."

Gibson noted that it took the helping hands of everyone involved, including a friend who allowed him to use his truck and Gibson's cousin Trip, whose work in the medical sales field provided him with prior knowledge of the routes to determine the best ways to navigate to their destinations.

Neighbors forge a path to recovery

Chris Ripley, a North Carolina farmer, told Blaze News about how his small town in Peace Rock came together around the community barn to rally supplies and coordinate deliveries after working to evacuate a 77-year-old man named Peter, a Vietnam veteran, who had sustained critical injuries during the storm.

Gibson, who met up with Ripley and his community, explained that Peter had walked outside to check the damages to his property after he had heard a loud noise. While outside, Peter was struck in the head by flying debris.

An individual who witnessed the incident immediately contacted other locals to arrange urgent medical care for Peter. The flying debris, which neighbors believe could have been a piece of roof from another home, caused Peter to sustain a broken neck and fractured skull.

Ripley stated that two wilderness first responders happened to live in the area and determined that Peter needed urgent care for his injuries and had an estimated eight hours to live without it.

"We're really blessed with a lot of skilled individuals," Ripley told Blaze News. "They were critical, along with some other naturopath doctors that stabilized him for the hours when we couldn't evacuate him."

Ripley noted that the road was impassable due to floodwaters and the bridge had collapsed. There was no clear path by vehicle, so neighbors spent several hours using chainsaws to clear a route while others carried Peter on a ladder used as a makeshift stretcher.

"We were able to get him out to the hospital just in time to get him stabilized, and he survived and was doing great," Ripley said.

'Even when something of this extreme, terrible nature happens, we're right there for each other.'

After locals successfully saved Peter, they started to use their community barn, which is frequently utilized as a venue for potlucks and movie nights, as a gathering place to check on one another and store supplies.

"We just put a call out to the valley. 'Hey, we're going to meet at noon every day.' And during that first day, when all the community members arrived, we broke off into teams," Ripley stated.

The locals formed several units to cover all of the community's immediate needs, including food, medical, communications, and road-clearing. Out of the community barn, they provided neighbors with propane, gasoline generators, lanterns, and other vital supplies. Ripley explained that part of his role has been donating produce from his farm to the community kitchen.

He stated that Neal Foster, a local who had survived Hurricane Katrina, was an integral part of the community team, offering advice based on his previous experience.

One of the "golden threads" Ripley observed was locals' ability to pool their skills and resources to create a sustainable community center.

"The people that live here have always been self-sufficient, hard workers, and strong individuals. And so having that here makes me very grateful to be living in this community and in this region of the nation," Ripley said. "Even when something of this extreme, terrible nature happens, we're right there for each other."

Ripley told Blaze News that the community hopes to continue to host regular meetings to keep their neighborly connection strong.

Gibson stated that Ripley's community in Peace Rock is "a microcosm for what's going on across Western North Carolina."

"Without them and all the people just to step up to fill gaps and help people, it wouldn't be where it's at so soon after Helene," he added.

A community cut off but not forgotten

Emily Young, the owner of Happy Hens and Highlands Farm and a Yancey County native, described to Blaze News how, after Hurricane Helene devastated the area, she was able to spread the word on social media to reach volunteers and generous donors who ultimately provided her small community with desperately needed vital supplies.

Young, who has already been without power for a couple of weeks, estimated that it could be another two weeks before it is restored.

"I'm not even that far from a main road," Young said. "If it's going to take that long to get power to me, I can't imagine some of these real remote areas, because there's not that much damage to the power lines and stuff where I'm at. There's other places where every single one is snapped, and there's rockslides and all that."

Young explained that she did not expect the storm to be nearly as bad as it was, anticipating that she would be able to host scheduled farm visits that same weekend.

"I didn't stock up on supplies because that stuff doesn't happen here," she remarked.

'Every way out of the town was gone.'

When she woke up on Friday, September 27, she soon noticed that her power was out and her cell phone had stopped receiving a signal. But even then, Young assumed it was a power outage in her immediate area.

"I don't get that great of service anyway," she noted. "I decided to walk down the road to my parents' house. They live just a couple hundred yards from me, and we're separated by a creek."

When she stepped outside, she saw that the road near her home had turned into "a raging river." Young explained that a dam had broken, causing a nearby pond to flood the area and wash out her driveway.

"I was scared to walk, to step into the road, because I was afraid I would get swept away," Young told Blaze News. "My dad was yelling at me to step back."

The rush of water was causing the pavement underneath her feet to begin crumbling, she said.

"I could have easily got swept in there, and I just didn't realize," Young added.

She noted that it took her hours to eventually find a way to reach her parents' home, whose driveway was also washed out, and their entire woodshop was swept into the creek.

Image Source: Emily Young

Young and her parents walked down the road to where she had parked her farm truck, hoping to use that vehicle to head into town.

"We still thought things were going to be open. We thought stores would be open. We thought we could just drive to town and grab a few supplies," she stated.

First, Young and her parents attempted to drive into Burnsville, but they were forced to turn around when they discovered the bridge on the main road, U.S. Route 19E, was under water. They then tried the other direction, hoping to reach Spruce Pine.

Image Source: Emily Young

"Thought we could go to the grocery store, Ingles. We start driving to Ingles, and it's under water," she continued. "The water's up to the marquee."

Young made a final attempt to drive down another road to Marion but was again unsuccessful, stating that "the whole mountain" was "gone" due to a landslide.

"Every way out of the town was gone," Young said, noting that that remained the case for about three days.

Image Source: Emily Young

It was not until the water receded that Young was able to make it to her local fire department. During her first visit, she noted that the department had a few bottles of water and a handful of food but not much else in the way of critical supplies for the community.

Back at her farm, Young had a Starlink, which she decided to bring to the fire station to help first responders coordinate supply deliveries.

Young took to her farm's social media account to request help for her local community. And the response was overwhelming.

A video posted by Young showcased the transformation of the fire department bay. Initially, the warehouse held only a few cases of water and other limited goods, but volunteers and donors soon lined the road outside the department, ready to drop off trucks and trailers brimming with essentials.

‘It was big news for a little while, and then the next thing happened and you forget about these people.’

Scenic Helicopter Tours, a helicopter tour agency, and its pilots volunteered to fly in donations that were dropped off at their location in Tennessee. Within days, the fire department bay exploded with pallets of critically needed items ready to be delivered to residents.

"Y'all are incredible," Young told her social media followers.

"This morning, I posted how few of supplies they had in their warehouse here at the fire department," she continued. "Thanks to y'all just sharing, supplies have been rolling in all day."

Young told Blaze News that her community received the water and food they desperately needed in the first few critical days thanks to locals, volunteers, and those who donated.

"It was just amazing the outpouring of support once I did start showing what was happening in my community," she said.

Now the "big thing is heat," Young remarked.

"It's starting to get really cold now, and so many people are still without power," she stated, adding that she has also shifted more of her focus to rebuilding efforts.

While the hurricane was "a nightmare," Young is thankful that the community came together in the aftermath of the devastation to help one another survive. She explained that many individuals moved to the area in recent years, and there has "kind of been a tension" between them and the locals.

"I feel like this, though, has brought everyone together," Young declared. "It's been an incredible experience."

She said her only fear is that people will forget about the devastation that tore through her community.

"With Maui, we've forgotten about it by now. All these people there, they lost everything," Young told Blaze News. "It was big news for a little while, and then the next thing happened and you forget about these people."

She stated that she and her community are grateful for all of the volunteers who showed up to help with search-and-rescue efforts.

"That part's incredible, but the rebuilding part — that's what we're going to need help with. There's so, so much damage here. I guess I worry, with the election coming up and all this stuff, this is going to be forgotten about really soon," Young said.

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Hunting for hope: Hound hunters step up as FEMA falls short in Appalachia



A community of hound hunters across America banded together this week to donate thousands of dollars' worth of supplies to their fellow countrymen devastated by Hurricane Helene, and their efforts were so successful that a local Tennessee post office reportedly couldn't manage all the deliveries.

Last Friday, Hurricane Helene sent such torrential rainfall to parts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee that within hours, residents were forced to flee to their rooftops in hopes of rescue.

T.L. Jones, the pastor of Appalachian Baptist Church in Greeneville, Tennessee, explained to Blaze News just how serious the situation quickly became.

"People [were] kicking out the top windows to get rescued by boats and lifted out by air in different places," he said. "And there's no way for the people in this area to have any concept of what was coming. ... And then once it happened, it just swept people away."

A friend, Boone McCrary, stopped by Pastor Jones' home shortly before venturing out in his boat to rescue someone trapped by the flooding. McCrary never returned.

"He capsized and drowned. They found him yesterday. They found his body," Jones said.

The pastor also shared harrowing stories of helicopters saving patients off the rooftop of a hospital, of a husband who drowned while attempting to escape the area with his wife after their home was ripped from its foundation, and a dam barely holding firm as millions of gallons of water cascade over its top.

'Where is the federal government? Where are they? We haven't waited on them, but we sure expected them to show up.'

Amid these dangerous conditions came a ray of hope: a group of people from all over America united in their love of hound hunting and their fellow man. Through the coordinated efforts of Pastor Jones and Chris Powell, the host of the "Houndsman XP" podcast, this group managed to send supplies en masse to Greeneville.

Screenshot of Houndsman XP website. Used with permission.

With the help of his daughter — "It needed a woman's touch on it," he joked — Powell developed an Amazon gift registry and then shared it on social media.

The response has been nothing short of amazing. As of Thursday afternoon, people had sent more than $8,000 worth of supplies to the ravaged area.

"There's everything on that site, from pre-made baby bottles to water to feminine hygiene products to cleaning supplies. canned food, snack food," Powell told Blaze News.

Photo of the Amazon registry receipts, shared with Blaze News

Powell and his fellow hound hunters were, in fact, so generous that the local Greeneville post office needed help delivering all the items donated off the Amazon registry, Pastor Jones said.

"It comes to a post office, and then we send vehicles to the post office and pick it up because they can't handle the number of stuff that's coming in," he explained to Blaze News.

Blaze News reached out to the U.S. Postal Service to confirm Jones' version of events but did not receive a response.

Powell also contacted Elite Nutrition, one of his show's sponsors, and the folks there donated two tons of pet food, he claimed.

Photo shared with Blaze News

Jones said that he also raised a total of $10,000 from the collection plate at his church as well as from another local church. He then started walking door-to-door, handing out $250 to residents. "Just so they could get some cash in their pockets," he said.

A network of churches and other organizations have reached out to Pastor Jones to send resources to the area as well. On the outside of one box of donated supplies was a particularly touching note: "To our fellow Tenneseans from the men of Uncle John's Handguns."

Photo shared with Blaze News

Though need in the area remains great, Powell, Jones, and others will soon divert the donations, which continue to arrive, to parts of North Carolina because the good people of Greeneville want to help take care of others.

Powell then shared a heartwarming story that aptly conveys the generous character, or what he described as the "fighting spirit," of the Appalachian people.

"One of the guys ... was literally delivering supplies and insulin and medicine up into the mountains with his horse and a pack mule. And he was talking to an older lady, an elderly lady there, that she couldn't even get out on a road. She didn't have electricity, and she didn't have water, but she had a spring," Powell said.

"And he rode up in there and he says, 'Can I leave you some food?' She says, 'I'm good. But I've got supper cooking. If you want to stay and eat with me, you're more than welcome to.'"

Powell, a retired conservation officer in Indiana who helped in the relief efforts following several natural disasters, including Hurricane Katrina in 2005, told Blaze News that he knew the hound-hunting community would open their hearts and their wallets to those who are suffering.

"They're the people that serve on your power crew. They're the people that will build your house, and when they're in times of need, they will step up to the plate," he said with pride.

"[They're] just good, red-blooded, freedom-loving Americans that know the value of stepping up and helping their fellow man."

Meanwhile, FEMA, a federal agency with an annual budget of nearly $30 billion, has offered just $750 to taxpaying citizens who in some cases lost almost all of their possessions.

"Where is the federal government? Where are they? We haven't waited on them, but we sure expected them to show up, and we just want to know: Where are they? Where is FEMA?" Jones asked.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas insisted the federal agencies under his purview, including FEMA, are doing the best they can.

"We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have. We are expecting another hurricane hitting. We do not have the funds," Mayorkas said Wednesday.

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EXCLUSIVE: Emergency responders share harrowing accounts of Hurricane Helene’s devastation: 'Never seen anything like it'



Blaze Media national correspondent Julio Rosas joined Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) in North Carolina this week to assess the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and distribute supplies to those in need in small communities outside Asheville.

Aerial footage showed destroyed buildings, fallen trees, washed-out roads, and severe flooding in some areas.

'These people have taken a serious hit.'

On the ground, Blaze News spoke with individuals at Broad River Fire & Rescue.

“Probably about two inches of water in here,” one individual on the fire rescue team told Rosas, referring to inside the fire station. “And in two minutes, it was to my knees. And I looked outside, and it was chest-deep.”

The man explained that as the water rose, he retreated up the stairs to the second floor of the fire station. “The doors buckled, and the water came through,” he explained.

The rush of water moved a pickup parked at the front of the department halfway down the building, the emergency responder explained. He stated that one of the fire trucks was totaled by the flood.

“It was unbelievable,” he continued. “I’ve been here my whole life, and I’ve never seen anything like it. My grandmother talked about the 1916 flood, and from what she told me, this is on the order of that.”

Another individual on the fire rescue team stated that there was nearly six feet of water in the fire department bay.

“You can see the water mark on the wall,” he remarked.

When asked what he would like Americans to know about what is going on in the area, he told Rosas, “Just communities planning together, helping each other. Families helping families.”

“These smaller communities, a lot of the families will band together. They share their food, their water,” he added.

Another volunteer, Mike Cannon, who has 40 years of rescue experience, told Rosas that he arrived on Sunday morning.

“Words can’t describe it,” he stated. “This is the worst one I’ve been to. We’ve been to Harvey and Hurricane Florence, Tropical Storm Irene in Vermont. And those are our benchmarks, but I’ve never seen devastation like there is here in North Carolina.”

“They’ve got a lot of resources both in state and out of state and federal,” Cannon said. “But I guess my thought process on this is that there are lots of areas that are completely cut off that are gonna take a long time for help to get into them. And the power grid does not look good around here. I would imagine that that’s going to take some time to repair and these people are going to need a lot of help.”

“I know they’re probably resilient, like a lot of people are, but these people have taken a serious hit here in their personal lives and their property,” he added.

He noted that the landslides in the area were like none he had ever seen before.

“Just a recon flight in this one fire district that we’re in, I counted over 125 landslides yesterday and I stopped counting,” Cannon said.

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SpaceX capsule arrives at International Space Station to rescue astronauts stranded since June after Boeing failure



Astronauts stranded on the International Space Station since June were relieved to welcome rescuers from a SpaceX capsule on Sunday.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fired off Saturday carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Alexander Gorbunov of the Russian Space Agency on the rescue mission to help Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams get home.

'As much as I’ve laughed and cried in the last 10 minutes, I know it’s going to be an amazing expedition.'

The two have been stranded since a Boeing Starliner capsule experienced thruster failures and helium leaks, leading NASA to seek the SpaceX alternative out of safety concerns. It was the first Starliner test flight with a crew, but it returned to Earth empty.

The Dragon capsule docked with the space station 265 miles above Botswana.

The SpaceX visitors were greeted by nine astronauts in the space station, which is normally manned by only seven people. Four of them can now return to Earth in the Dragon space capsule.

Wilmore and Williams will have to wait until February to return. They were originally meant to be on the space station for only a week's length.

“I just want to say welcome to our new compadres,” said Williams.

“Coming through the hatch and seeing all the smiles, and as much as I’ve laughed and cried in the last 10 minutes, I know it’s going to be an amazing expedition,” said Hague.

The seven people at the space station apart from Willmore and Williams have been on the station since March because of the Boeing debacle in June.

Boeing released a brief statement after NASA announced in August that SpaceX would take on the rescue mission.

"We continue to focus, first and foremost, on the safety of the crew and spacecraft. We are executing the mission as determined by NASA, and we are preparing the spacecraft for a safe and successful uncrewed return," the company said on the X platform.

Critics have called on lawmakers to reconsider the very expensive NASA missions.

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The burning question after Hurricane Helene destroys southern Appalachia's forgotten communities



More than 100 Americans are dead after Hurricane Helene, a powerful Category 4 cyclone, made landfall in Florida last week.

What made Helene unusual compared to previous major hurricanes is that communities hardest hit sit hundreds of miles from the coast. Dozens of people in Georgia and South Carolina are already confirmed dead, while at least 30 people in Buncombe County in North Carolina — where the city of Asheville is located — have already been confirmed dead.

Where is the media coverage? Where are President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris?

Unfortunately, the death toll is expected to rise as emergency crews finally reach impassable areas.

The storm was especially devastating for mountain communities in north Georgia and the Carolinas because it had already been raining there for nearly a day — rain from a separate storm system — when Helene barreled through the region, bringing with her hurricane-force winds and torrential downpours.

The cumulative impact caused mudslides and historic flooding while falling trees cut power to millions of Americans.

Many of the Appalachian communities already forgotten were cut off from the outside world: no electricity, no running water, no internet, and no cell phone service. At one point, all four interstate entrances and exits into the city of Asheville were cut off.

The flooding even wiped away entire communities.

Interstate 40 near the Tennessee-North Carolina border is also impassable after one side of the highway fell into the raging Pigeon River. And dozens of people had to be rescued from a hospital roof in eastern Tennessee.

A beautiful region of the United States has, in many areas, been permanently damaged. The impact is already being compared to what happened after Hurricane Katrina.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) described the destruction, saying it "looks like a bomb went off." North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D), moreover, said Helene was "one of the worst storms in modern history."

But there was a burning question on social media over the weekend: Where is the media coverage? Where are President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris?

It's true the media is finally covering the story. But the problem that people expressed on social media over the weekend is that the coverage, especially on Friday and Saturday, did not match the magnitude of the unfolding disaster.

— (@)

As of Monday, the president and vice president have tweeted about the storm a handful of times combined. Additionally, Biden has approved "Major Disaster" declarations for Florida and North Carolina, and FEMA has deployed just 800 personnel to the region, according to CBS News. Harris also cut short a campaign trip to receive briefings on Helene.

Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is stepping up. Launching "Operation Blue Ridge," the Florida Republican deployed his state's resources to help with recovery efforts.

Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to visit Georgia on Monday, where he will meet with local officials and help distribute disaster relief supplies.

As rescue operations continue over the coming days and weeks, it will be difficult to comprehend the scope of the death and destruction. AccuWeather's preliminary estimate of total storm damage and economic loss is between $95–$110 billion.

If you want to support recovery efforts, consider donating to Mercury One, Samaritan's Purse — which is located in Boone, North Carolina, a mountain town devastated by Helene — or other official charitable organizations assisting in the recovery.

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Police laud Jon Bon Jovi for talking woman down from ledge



Surveillance footage taken Tuesday evening on Nashville's John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge shows a woman in a blue shirt on the wrong side of the railing, looking down at what could have been a deadly plunge into the Cumberland River.

Whereas some pedestrians walked past the distressed woman without showing any signs of slowing, rock star Jon Bon Jovi made his way over to talk her off the ledge.

According to the Tennessean, Bon Jovi was filming a music video on the bridge for his song "The People House."

The musician can be seen walking up to the distressed woman in the company of a production assistant while the rest of his crew keep their distance. Bon Jovi engages the distressed woman while his female production assistant makes physical contact, placing a reassuring hand on her back.

'It takes all of us to help keep each other safe.'

Soon, Bon Jovi and the production assistant can be seen gripping the woman, then helping her over the railing and onto the right side of the pedestrian bridge. As the video crew begins closing the distance, Bon Jovi hugs the woman in blue.

The Metro Nashville Police Department noted on X, "A shout out to @jonbonjovi & his team for helping a woman on the Seigenthaler Ped Bridge Tue night. Bon Jovi helped persuade her to come off the ledge over the Cumberland River to safety.

MNPD Chief John Drake stated, "It takes all of us to help keep each other safe."

The Tennessean indicated that Bon Jovi has declined to speak in detail about the incident out of respect for the privacy of the woman. A source told the New York Post, however, that the musician did what anybody in that situation would have done: lend a helping hand.

The bridge where the incident took place was named after John Siegenthaler, a journalist who once saved a suicidal man's life on the same span.

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